Babies among 53 dead after migrant boat sinks off Libya
CAIRO—Two babies are among at least 53 people dead or missing after an inflatable migrant boat sank off Libya, the UN migration agency said on Monday, the latest tragedy on a dangerous route for those seeking a better life in Europe.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the boat with 55 African migrants on board departed Libya’s western town of Zawaiya shortly before midnight on Thursday.
Around six hours later it began taking on water and capsized on Friday morning north of the town of Zuwara.
Two Nigerian women survived the shipwreck and were rescued by Libyan authorities, IOM said. One of them said she lost her husband, while the other reported losing her two babies.
“Trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the central Mediterranean route,” the UN agency said.
These networks make profits through using “unseaworthy boats” to sail migrants from the chaos-stricken Libya to European shores, it added.
Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, even though the North African nation has plunged into chaos.
